You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein

One of the rare, clever books that made me laugh 'til I cried—and a crowd-pleaser I lend to everyone.

Published December 3, 2024

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you'll grow out

Book: You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein
Release Date: July 11, 2017
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought

A cute W&L
Chaotic nightstand from 2017.

From Emmy award-winning comedy writer Jessi Klein, You'll Grow Out of It hilariously and candidly explores the journey of the 21st-century woman.

As both a tomboy and a late bloomer, comedian Jessi Klein grew up feeling more like an outsider than a participant in the rites of modern femininity.


In
You'll Grow Out of It, Klein offers - through an incisive collection of real-life stories—a relentlessly funny yet poignant take on a variety of topics she has experienced along her strange journey to womanhood and beyond.

These include her "transformation from Pippi Longstocking-esque tomboy to are-you-a-lesbian-or-what tom man," attempting to find watchable porn, and identifying the difference between being called "ma'am" and "miss" ("miss sounds like you weigh 99 pounds").

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Raw, relatable, and consistently hilarious, You'll Grow Out of It is a one-of-a-kind book by a singular and irresistible comic voice.


I'm not on a memoir/creative nonfiction kick lately (and in fact, I think that's likely the area of my reading taste that is the least developed), but I have been on a memoir/creative nonfiction reviewing kick apparently, probably because I'm undergoing a very specific psychology and philosophy slant. We'll get to that.

You'll Grow Out of It is a book I first read in fall 2017, and this was the notable part: I never laugh at books. I might do that little huff of an exhale that indicates I found a line funny, but I'm not hysterical over a book itself; in fact, I'm not sure shows or comedy gets me that much in general. Most of my giggles are in personal situations, a little delirious and/or sleepy (and I am weak for a painfully stupid, relatable meme or Reel series; I'm only human.) Still, when I find a figure or author who makes me laugh, I'm all-in on my consumption. If I'm going to laugh at a book, I want to cackle. I want to be crying laughing, unable to breathe.

But as soon as I picked up You'll Grow Out of It, I found the most delightful combination of piercing, true-to-life reflections (like meditations on the calm and togetherness of walking into an Anthropologie, or the strange I'm-better-than-this addiction to The Bachelor when you start out watching ironically) and extremely clever wit.

Similarly, my taste in humor style is a little tricky to nail down. I like witty. I don't like crude, or bathroom humor, or punching down. I'm much more likely to connect to sharpness than shock value. I could tell you comics or jokes I like, but I couldn't rattle off a list or make connections between different styles or know who to click on when scrolling through Netflix; the vocabulary of fans is really impressive to me, because the distinctions can be tough to articulate.

You'll Grow Out of It is humble and brilliant, and knows when to dial up the drama, and also gets poignant and candid right at the right times. For that reason, this is one of those crowd-pleaser books I have lent out a thousand times and recommended wholeheartedly during college. If I'm remembering correctly, I'm relatively certain I had to buy another copy because mine disappeared, passed hand-to-hand throughout the sorority house my sophomore year.

Whether you're a youngin navigating the (shudder) throes of new adulthood or someone a little later in life, you'll still connect with Klein's observations. The style and focus doesn't feel demographically limited by age or maturity, which can sometimes feel rare. In some ways, she reminded me of The Fran Lebowitz Reader, which I devoured in high school—minus the cigarettes, maybe.

Klein's sophomore release, I'll Show Myself Out, is similarly great, but narrows in on motherhood and the postpartum experience in a way that limits her relatability. She has an impressive emotional scope and ability to get to the core of loneliness, vulnerability, etc,. without feeling trauma dump-y or corny or like too much, so she knows when and how to make a moment resonate. And of course, I find her very funny. I'd definitely pick up the second if you love the first (or if you'd appreciate or relate to the contours of motherhood and family transitions. Maybe as a gift to a first-time mother in your life?) You'll probably appreciate it more as a woman, but I do think men would find it funny, or at least like a peek behind the curtain. (Excuse my stereotyping.)

Later on, a few years later (as I'm a huge rereader), I listened to You'll Grow Out of It as an audiobook during a road trip. I'm very picky about narrators, so that's pretty rare for me—but I enjoyed it. The book's great in both formats.

I'm honestly overdue for a reread, since it's been long enough that my lens of postgrad experiences has probably entirely shifted the connections I'd form to it (and the affection I'd have for Klein's insights) now. Her mixture of self-criticism, cultural commentary, warmth, compassion, and wit make her a standout to me, and I do feel like she'd be a person I'd appreciate if I ran across in person too.

Topics include being a tomboy, infertility, taste in men, taking baths, and (as noted) Anthropologie and The Bachelor, among others. I need her to both narrate my life and give me advice.

Now, some favorite lines and stories:

I was a woman sobbing in a hotel corridor, which is kind of incredible, because when I was little I thought I was going to be a senator.
the bachelor
the bachelor
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For fans of:

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson; The Bodyguard by Katherine Center; Taylor Tomlinson; John Mulaney?; Shrinking (TV); Bachelor Nation by Amy Kaufman; The Consequences of Loving Colton by Rachel van Dyken; The Fran Lebowitz Reader by Fran Lebowitz.


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